This thesis aimed at investigating ligand-induced staining (LIS) as a new labelling technique to visualize ORN subpopulation in larval X.l. In the course of this study, it was at first validated that LIS is a suitable technique for this experimental model animal. Secondly, tests carried out with forskolin furthermore revealed that the observed staining does not occur via activated cAMP/CNG channels. To generate first evidence that an odorant-induced, receptor-mediated endocytosis could be a plausible explanation for the observed staining, a temperature experiment was conducted, knowing that a decrease in temperature affects receptor-mediated endocytosis in sensory cells of vertebrates. As a decrease in staining efficiency was observed in these experiments, in summary it can be hypothesized that, presumably based on an adaption mechanism, a receptor-mediated endocytosis is the reason for the observed ligand-induced staining.
